7.1.1 Packaging Device Drivers for Windows Systems

Prepare all interdependent driver files (*.sys, *.inf, *.dll, etc.) for your target infrastructure and device. If you have obtained manufacturer-specific drivers as a .zip archive or an executable, extract them first.

Save the driver files in separate folders, with one folder per device.

7.1.3 Uploading Drivers to the PlateSpin Forge Device Driver Database

Use the PlateSpin Driver Manager to upload device drivers to the driver database.

NOTE:On upload, PlateSpin Forge does not validate drivers against selected operating system types or their bit specifications; make sure that you only upload drivers that are appropriate for your target infrastructure.

Device Driver Upload Procedure (Linux)

Click Upload Drivers, browse to the folder that contains the required driver package (*.pkg), and click Upload All Drivers.

The system uploads the selected drivers to the driver database.

7.1.4 Using the Plug and Play (PnP) ID Translator Feature

“Plug and Play” (PnP) refers to Windows operating system functionality that supports connectivity, configuration, and management with native plug and play devices. In Windows, the feature facilitates discovery of PnP compliant hardware devices attached to a PnP compliant bus. PnP compliant devices are assigned a set of Device Identification Strings by their manufacturer. These strings are programmed into the device when it is built. These strings are fundamental to how PnP works: they are part of the Windows' information source used to match the device with a suitable driver.

When the PlateSpin Server discovers workloads and their available hardware, the discovery includes these PnP IDs and the storage of that data as part of the workload’s details. PlateSpin uses the IDs to determine which, if any, drivers need to be injected during a failover/failback operation. The PlateSpin Server maintains a database of PnP IDs for the associated drivers of each of the supported operating systems. Because Windows and Linux use different formats for PnP IDs, a Windows workload discovered by the Protect Linux RAM disk contains Linux-style PnP IDs.

These IDs are formatted consistently, so PlateSpin can apply a standard transformation to each of them to determine its corresponding Windows PnP ID. The translation occurs automatically within the PlateSpin product. The feature lets you or a support technician add, edit or remove custom PnP mappings.

Follow these steps to use the PnP ID Translation feature:

Launch the PlateSpin Driver Manager tool and connect to the PlateSpin Server.

In the Driver Manager tool, select the PNP ID Translation tab to open the PNP ID Translation list, which includes the currently known custom PnP ID mappings.

On the dialog box, click Select Machine to display a list of the machines previously discovered by the PlateSpin Linux RAM disk.

Highlight one of the devices in the list, then click Select to populate the list in the Select Linux PnP ID dialog box.

Select a device on the list, then click OK to apply the standard transformation to the PnP ID and display it in the Create PnP ID Mapping dialog box.

In the Windows PNP ID field, add a Windows PnP ID:

(Conditional) If you know it, type the Windows PnP ID you want to use.

or

(Conditional) Adjacent to the Windows PNP ID field, click Select to open a mapping tool that presents three methods for helping you map a the Windows PnP ID:

Under the Driver File tab, browse to and select a Windows driver file (that is, a file with the *.inf extension), select the desired PnP ID, then click Modify.

Under the Driver Database tab, browse to and select the existing driver database, select the correct PnP ID, then select Modify.

Under the Select Machine tab, click Select Machine, then, from the list of Windows machines discovered using live discovery, select a machine, click OK to display its devices, select the desired PnP ID, then click Modify.

IMPORTANT:Selecting a Windows PnP ID that does not have an associated driver package installed might result in a failure at failover/failback time.

In the Create PnP Id Mapping dialog box, confirm that the correct Linux PnP ID and the correct Windows PnP are selected, then click OK to display the PNP ID Translation page of the PlateSpin Driver Manager.

(Optional) To modify or remove the mapping in the PNP ID Translation list, select the mapping pattern, then click Remove or Modify, depending on the operation you want to perform.